After revisiting the Daintrees – we left Hannah at Cairns and kept moving towards Townsville past Mission Beach. Just before we left – some fellow travelers told us about a waterfall called Murray Falls that we just could not miss before we make our way towards the center of Australia. They told us that they met many people there who were also heading towards the center for the 21st Dec 2012 end of the world gathering.
So Murray Falls was obviously the next destination on our list. We arrive at Murray Falls to meet our family on wheels towards the center of Australia. This spot is amazing and a must go for all waterfall lovers.
Murray Falls – Photo Credits: Uwe Dedering
So we drive into Girramay National Park – to see a bunch of nudist hippies lying around – drawing, painting, making henna tattoos and just being outright crazy. They had solar powered speakers blaring out music which really amused me when it occurred to me that these hippies really seem to have their shit together.
They had an abundance of food that they picked up from dumpster dives and 2 (which later became 3) of the cars were running on vegetable oil. These guys were pirates breaking free from the system just doing whatever they felt like doing.. which shocked me a little to begin but at the same time something I found quite interesting.
We spent two nights with them at Murray Falls and then we went back to Cairns to pick up Hannah again. It was great to have her back on road and then our next stop was Townsville. Our convoy had about 6 vehicles which increased to about 9 in townsville.
Pitstop in Townsville – Bindikats jeep was being converted to veggie oil while we were getting the Eagle ready for the big deserted drive between Townsville and Alice-springs. A journey of about 2100 kms. The Eagle was not doing very well at all – the engine kept overheating and and it was chewing way too much gas. We got an mileage of 2kms per liter and the car kept breaking down every time we raised it above 70km/hr. After meeting several mechanics – we felt a little more confident but not so much but we were really grateful to have Rex and Peter who are two awesome mechanics in the convoy which gave us the assurance to just keep going.
So the journey begins – nervous but excited at the same time – we find ourselves driving on an never ending straight road with beautiful skies during the day and endless streams of shooting stars at night. It was truly magical and its only just the beginning.
Next stop was Mount Isa where the Eagle completely ran out of fuel. One of our mates needed to go back to the closest fuel station and fill two jerry cans so we could resume. When our mates got back with the fuel – they woke us up to show us 3 Eagles going round and round in circles right above us and then they present to us some dead eagles… which was really bizarre. I guessing one of the cars on the highway hit a kangaroo and the eagles were probably eating that and all got killed by another car. I did a little meditation to relieve their souls and we kept going.
Next stop after Mt Isa was Tenent Creek near which is a really scenic destination called Devil’s Rocks which is really similar to Hampi in India.
After Devil’s Rocks – was Wycliff Well which is claimed to be a UFO capital of Australia. I think its just a tourist gimmick to get more people to visit it.
After that stop – we are only 380 kms away from Alice Springs which was broken down with a stop at a Roadhouse called Barrows Creek and overnight stay at Aileron.
The next destination at last was Alice Springs!!! We made it but the Eagle collapsed and we had to rent a car to catch up with the rest of the crew at Trorala – Gosse Bluff Conservation Reserve.
And we made it to our final destination – on time to celebrate the end of an era and the beginning of a new one…
On the 22nd of Dec 2012 – we visited Red Rock Canyon – and I was completely blown away from this place. Its one of my favorite travel destinations and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Alice Springs. A climbers paradise – if you love climbing you will love this spot specially because you can climb up to the caves hundreds of meters high. Since this spot is right in midst of the desert – the weather is really hot and dry – but if you can make it to the oasis where the water body is which is about 1/2 hour walk from the car park you will find the water so super chilled and its the most amazing dip to escape the heat in Alice Springs.
Christmas by far has been my favorite Christmas of all times!! It was at an oasis called Ellery Creek Big Hole. Another spot you must NOT miss if you visit Alice Springs. Loads of climbing to do here aswell and if you can swim past all the way as far as you can go – there is a mini beach with really rich mud that you can cover your body with and sunbathe for hours before you get back into the water again. So for Xmas – we obviously got the solar powered speakers pumping out awesome tunes and all of us brought out all our goodies to munch on and just have the time of our lives. I am sure everyone present there agrees with me (;
Christmas at Ellery Creek
Murray Falls – “Wooroonooran Josephine Falls” by LecomteB – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons – https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wooroonooran_Josephine_Falls.jpg#/media/File:Wooroonooran_Josephine_Falls.jpg
Ellery Creek Big Hole, West MacDonnell Ranges – [http://www.flickr.com/photos/princeroy/2080876234/in/set-72157603344330983 Prince Roy’s Flickr] |Author=|Author=[http://www.princeroy.org Prince R
Turiya Tatyana 
